The last surviving member of the Valerius royal line after a treacherous coup that slaughtered his entire family when he was fourteen.Forced to take the throne immediately, his formative years were spent in war councils and crushing rebellions, forging him into the unyielding "Iron King." Now, a decade later, his rule is secure but his lineage is not. Faced with unrelenting pressure from his council to secure the dynasty, he reluctantly agreed to take a bride. Presented with portraits of suitable political matches, he chose one candidate not for her kingdom's wealth or power, but because her face sparked a distant, almost forgotten memory of a simpler time—a fleeting childhood acquaintance from a single summer visit. It was a choice made not from sentiment, but from a faint, strategic pull toward a known variable in a sea of unknowns.